Hadge

The Sabre is a small kite so you are always going to struggle with low wind as it's not designed for it. You could try shortening the two bridle lines that go up to the nose of the kite by 1-2cm - if it does have adjustment knot you could either tie a small neat knot in the lines or wrap the lines once around the top spreader. The Brookite, while a bit bigger is quite heavy so again it's never going to be great 6mph winds. Proper light wind kites are expensive because of the materials used to make them and your options in the UK are limited. Rob mentioned the HQ Shadow ( HQ Expert! Cheers Rob sounds like I've been promoted! ) which is a nice light wind kite but expensive - around £160. Cheaper options are the HQ Stratus - basically similar to the Shadow but with a more basic frame and sail material - I haven't had a chance to try one but they are supposed to be Ok and will fly in 2-3mph. The other option is the Prism 4D - nice kite that will fly in virtually nothing but it can be a bit twitchy. Both are around £80-90 so still not cheap. It depends how much you need a really light wind kite. Short lines make flying in light winds easier - 15-20 mtrs.

Leading edge is a term used in dual line kites more than single line. Really cheap kites tend to be made of very cheap materials, badly sewn with very floppy frames and cheap brittle connectors. If you are going to make a stack it puts more stress on the kites as it pulls more - especially the front kite - so you need good quality fittings and frames. Also setting up a stack from scratch can be a real pain - I've just done it with 2 dual line kites - so It's probably worth £40 to get 3 decent kites already to fly. Skydog are a good brand.

'Revolution' kites are controlled by 4 lines instead of the usual 2 or 1. The genuine American Revolution kites are the originals and still probably the best though they are very expensive in the UK. Cheaper alternatives can be bought from China and Europe but while there have been a lot of heated debates on how good or bad they are compared to the genuine article, for a beginner at least I'd get a genuine one because you know that will fly properly straight from the bag without having to adjust things. You can often pick them up cheaper ( but not cheaply) on Ebay. Indoor Revs are specially designed to be very light but this also means like most indoor kites they are more fragile and perhaps not for a total beginner.

Hi there, welcome to the forum. If you just have a small box kite then what you need is some dacron line probably about 20kgs breaking strain. Try looking at http://www.thehighwaymen.co.uk/PBSCCatalog.asp?CatID=1648666 a long established kite firm based in Hinckley near Leicester. Have a chat with them and I'm sure they will put you right. You can make a stack by attaching the kites together but getting the right gap between the kites is important and not always easy to set up - it varies from kite to kite. Also really cheap kites aren't usually that suitable. You can get a ready made 3 stack of diamond kites for £40 ish from http://www.kiteworld.co.uk/acatalog/Skydog-Diamond-Tripple-Stack.html#.VWWs6UbSwxg

There is a 'contact us' option on the Level One website - www.levelonekites.com - out the web address into google and it will let you translate from German.

If you want to try removing the old broken ferrule it's pretty easy. Find a piece of stiff wire or thinner carbon rod that will slide into the spreader from the other end and let you push on the ferrule from inside. Then get a heat gun - the kind of thing you use to strip paint - and gently heat up the area with the broken ferrule for couple of minutes- keep it moving - once it is nice and hot ( you can usually see a little 'vapour' from the spreader when it's hot enough) push the ferrule out with the wire/rod.

It's been windy here today and I spent the afternoon ragging the HQ Delta Hawk around the skies. Now the solo Hawk is great, straight up like a rocket and very stable. When I add the second hawk to make the stack it's not so easy. It tends to flip around when you try to launch it and if you get it off the ground for the first 20' it tries to spin and is very unstable and the rear kite wobbles quite a bit. Once it is up in the air properly it flies and handles quite well though the rear kite still wobbles. I think the problem is with the link lines, I've been told 2 or 3 different lengths, currently I'm using 40.5" /103cm - the leading edge of the Hawk is 39.5"/102cm - does this seem about right? Also the Hawk is unusual in that it only has 4 attachment points for the links - 2 x lower spreader fittings, centre T and just below the nose ( the upper bridle connection is on the spine not the L/E's). Does anyone have any experience of stacking Delta Hawks or suggestions to improve launching/stability? Thanks.

If it has a velcro fastening on the tail the easiest way is to make some weights from self adhesive velcro and lead. Cut a piece on velcro about 2" long and then cut a piece of lead sheet to the right weight and stick it between the velcro strips back to back. These just go between the spine velcro and the tail fastening velcro. You can make a range of weights to suit your kite 5grams, 10 grams, 15 grams, whatever. Tim Benson uses these.

I recently bought a Micron to take down to the beach on holiday ( too many 'obliviots' + their kids + their dogs to use a full sized kite safely! ) - what a blast! I'd recommend one to anyone! .....ironic that you spend years perfecting a range of kite tricks and Mr& Mrs Joe Public completely ignore you but put a tail on a Micron and whizz around in circles at warp speed and they think you're amazing!!

If you go duel line I'd suggest something like the HQ 1.3 Symphony Beach for a foil - flies easily, nothing to break and doesn't pull too hard - also comes with a neat bag and decent lineset. OR for a framed kite the HQ Bebop - again easy to fly, hard to break, lots of bright colours for kids, and a decent lineset. Either will probably cost you around $30 or so and will last for years.

Not exactly the answer to your question but as you live in Europe and already have a HQ kite take a look at the HQ Maestro 2 - in your price range. big kite so not too fast, good for just flying around but also tricks really well - also shipping may well be much cheaper. I have one and really enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGE8EgmKdDw

I had a 4D - nicely made and with the case a very nice package BUT - while it will fly in 1mph ( or less if you run backwards) it is small and very twitchy, by 5mph everything is happening very quickly and at 7mph it went back into the bag. I know you see it doing lots of tricks on Youtube but in reality you need a very light hand to stand a chance of doing much - I fly trick kites a lot but I could only manage fades and 540's on the 4D - I think the very flexible 2.5mm carbon frame doesn't help as any hint of a strong input tends to make the frame twist and pulls the kite out of the sky. If you really must fly in no wind then the 4D will let you fly, but if you can live with something that needs just a little more breeze there are better allround trickable UL's out there.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Flying Wings Silver Fox vented and it's not too expensive. I haven't tried one, I missed out of one last year and they are pretty rare over here in the UK.

They are good line sets. Tim Benson sells them at around £22 for a ready made set on the winder. I use to get mine from here - http://www.kiteparadise.shopfactory.com/contents/en-uk/d102.html He also sells bulk rolls at a very good price if you don't mind making your own linesets - around £30 for a 100m spool. The guys name is Manni Kluge and he's a good bloke but I would email him before you order as it's a small one man outfit and I haven't seen him for a while so I'm not sure if he's still in business. I don't think they are exactly the same but they do fade to pink in time. They do last though, I bought a set secondhand 3 years ago and they are still going strong!

Climax linesets are coloured - yellow for the Professional and Orange for the Protec. Good linesets, very slippy and last ages - widely available in Europe.

Have you tried flying with 30ft lines? It's VERY short and things happen in the blink of an eye.

If you are just taking a couple of kites just strap them to the cross bar like I do.

Fishing rod bags work well, lots of useful/long pockets to put stuff in. I use a fishing rod bag as my main bag to store all my kites in but usually if I just go down to my local field I use a small roll up bag I made myself that just holds 3-4 kites and lines.

There is a Rev EXP for sale on the Fractured Axel forum (UK) which will probably not be too expensive.

It'll be expensive to import one from the States as you will probably have to pay VAT and import duties. Try putting a wanted ad on the sales page of the 'Fractured Axel' forum ( UK based - look it up on Google) and you may get lucky. Second hand one do come up quite often on Ebay.

Not entirely sure but it's very early - maybe a scorcher? You may find some answers and interest http://fracturedaxel.co.uk/phpbb3/ It's a UK site with a few Benson collectors.

Buy a HQ Delta Hawk, some strong long lines, some padded straps and then just hang on with a silly grin on your face!!

While I agree it's a great kite, the problem is it's not sold in the UK. That means you can only get hold of it ( and many other nice kites you guys have over there) by importing it and that means UK customs & Import charges for anything worth over £40 ($60). The Widow NG is around $180 (£112) over there, but by the time you have paid shipping, UK Import duty, Tax and handling charges it will cost around £180 by the time it arrives on a doorstep over here! The range of kites available over here is quite limited.

Hi there, Welcome to the forum from fellow Brit flier! You have mentioned most of the decent trick kite available in the UK in £100 ish range. Here are my thoughts. Quantum and Hypnotist - decent kites but they are designed to be tough for beginners ( especially the Quantum) which makes them a bit on the heavy side so they may not be as easy to fly in low winds. Skydog Jammin' and Dream on - Designed by Dodd Gross who makes a nice kite that doesn't cost a fortune. The Dream On is more of a Team kite - made for precision more than tricks. The Jammin' has had some good write up's from people who have bought it and it seems to be very tricky. It also has the advantage that it made from ordinary 6mm carbon tube which is cheap and easy to fix when you break bits ( You WILL break bits - everyone does!). it's a kite I'd like to try myself. HQ Maestro 2 (3?) I have had a Maestro 2 for a couple of years now and really like it. It's HQ so the quality is good and it's a pretty tough, all round kite with a good wind range. It will also do pretty much any trick. Now the standard Maestro 2 straight out of the bag is a pretty good kite. A couple of years ago one of the well known German pilots posted a series of modifications to 'tune' the standard kite - small frame and bridle mods you can do very easily. This made the standard kite even better - I have a modded version and it's a great kite. At the time at least one person from HQ flew the modded kite and hey presto they have now produced the Maestro 3 which is slightly smaller than the '2' ( but the same size as the modded version) and has a 3 point bridle instead of the turbo bridle on the '2' ( the modded version also has a 3 point!). I suspect that the Maestro 3 may be their take on the modded Maestro 2 though I have nothing to confirm this - it isn't even on their current website or catalogue but probably will be in the 2015 one - not much on the web either. The Maestro 2 is available from the 2 big UK kite shops at around £100 the Maestro 3 is available from a couple of the German kite shops on Ebay for £106 with free postage. Which to get? personnally I'd have either a Jammin' or a Maestro. Which Maestro? the 2 is good but I would be very tempted to try the new version. If you want any more info or addresses for the kite shops PM me. Oh - You want to get a copy of Dodd Gross's ' Flight School' video too - the best I've found for new fliers or anyone wanting to get into trick flying - it is available on Youtube as Dodd has recently posted it up.

THis was the one that impressed me. or this one